Dying in the City of the Blues Day 3 Response

Two main topics arose in reading these last sections of Dying in the City of the Blues. First, there is the question of whether politicians such as Nixon and Kuykendall made their stance on helping those diagnosed with sickle cell anemia out of legitimate concern. Second, the issue of market-based healthcare and whether or not it helps or hinders people who suffer from sickle cell anemia receive whatever they believe to be proper treatment. Although Nixon's recognition of sickle cell anemia and the need for research and support for the disease was a step in the right direction, Kuykendall's and his loyalty to being fiscally conservative caused other diseases to lose funding. The reallocating of resources for medical research rather than an increase in government spending resulted in a competition among different diseases for support and funding. The supportive politicians patted themselves on the back, though, for expanding their concerns to something that heavily impacted the black community. Conveniently for Kuykendall, his reelection would be in a different region due to redistricting, and this region was predominantly people of color. As for Nixon, he was able to gain a second term pretty easily due to a portion of his platform being promising support for the black community.

Privatization of healthcare created barriers for people suffering with sickle cell anemia. Issues of how certain patients could be treated arose with even more growth in unequal healthcare. Different treatment options were floating around as well, and so was the concern of economic responsibility for those treatments. BMT grew in popularity even though it could have fatal consequences because insurance often covered it and it was a one time expense that could result in being cured. Chronic symptom treatment did not have fatal consequences if used properly, but it was expensive and it had to be used regularly because it was not a cure. Competitive markets with healthcare kept costs low for institutions, but increased issues of affordability and accessibility among people with lower economic status. This, in turn, did not help sufferers of sickle cell anemia and their families, but added yet another entity in the web of decision making for them.